Charlie's Angels review - feminism-lite action comedy

★★★ CHARLIE'S ANGELS Feminism-lite action comedy

Non-stop rollercoaster is more fun than the US box office suggests

“Badass” – as applied to dynamic women – and “girl power” may be the kinds of exhausted clichés that are reductive in the #MeToo and Time’s Up era, but the new Charlie’s Angels movie revitalises the attitude they describe in a way that’s neither condescending nor retrogressive.

Knives Out review - marvellous murder mystery

★★★★ KNIVES OUT Daniel Craig heads a classy ensemble as a Southern sleuth

Daniel Craig heads a classy ensemble as a Southern sleuth on the hunt for a country house killer

The world’s most successful mystery writer is found dead on the morning after his 85th birthday. In attendance in his Gothic pile are his bickering family, each of whom might wish him dead, and a colourful detective ready to determine whodunnit.  

John Grisham: The Guardians review - nail-bitingly good

A damning indictment of the American legal system from top crime novelist

Some two million Americans are currently in prison in America. A disproportionate number are black and nearly 200,000 are estimated to be innocent. John Grisham’s quietly horrifying new novel is a damning indictment of the inequities and corruption of the American legal system, which is shown to be not only corrupt but also profoundly inefficient and adept at making victims of those it incarcerates.

Vienna Blood, BBC Two review - psychoanalysis and murder in turn-of-the-century Vienna

★★★ VIENNA BLOOD, BBC TWO Psychoanalysis and murder in turn-of-the-century Vienna

Set in a thrilling era, Steve Thompson's adaptation of Frank Tallis's Liebermann novels fails to excite

“Talking cures and exploring the darkness of men’s souls – are you sure this is a career for a gentleman?” This is Vienna, 1906. Freud is exerting an influence, to the disapproval of many, including the father of cool-as-a-cucumber Max Liebermann (Matthew Beard).

'I’m having too much fun writing novels': author Nicolas Searle on The Good Liar

'I'M HAVING TOO MUCH FUN WRITING NOVELS' Nicolas Searle on 'The Good Liar'

Writer explains the journey from debut novel to prestige film

"Surreal" is how the man calling himself Nicholas Searle describes the last five years of his life. He began working on his debut novel The Good Liar in 2014 at the age of 57, having recently retired from the Civil Service. The nature of his former employment remains undisclosed. But, the fact that Nicholas Searle is not his real name, gives a clue to the fact his work was in intelligence rather than land registry.

The Irishman review - mobster masterclass

BAFTA 2020 In joint second place, with 10 nominations, ‘The Irishman’

Scorsese, De Niro, Pesci and Pacino are on top form in this sprawling gangster drama

Much has been made of Martin Scorsese’s recent dismissal of Marvel films. Putting that debate aside, there’s no escaping the fact that in an era of rapid-fire sequels, with the same ensembles trotted out year after year, there’s far more frisson to be felt when the reunion is after not one or two, but 25 years – and what the filmmakers are seeking to recreate really is movie magic. 

Dublin Murders, Series Finale, BBC One review - eerie detective drama grips tightly

★★★★ DUBLIN MURDERS, SERIES FINALE, BBC ONE Eerie detective drama grips tightly

Adaptation of Tana French novels exerts a supernatural allure

You wouldn’t expect a drama called Dublin Murders (BBC One) to be a laugh a minute, but the cumulative anguish, menace and torment of this eight-parter made it almost unbearable, even if viewers were thrown a tiny scrap of hope in the final frames.

Michael Connelly: The Night Fire review - unputdownable

★★★★ MICHAEL CONNELLY: THE NIGHT FIRE Detective duo Ballard and Bosch investigate three LA murders

Return of detective duo Ballard and Bosch for an investigation into three LA murders

Ballard and Bosch sound like some dystopian upmarket commodity. They are, but deep in with the low life. They are Michael Connolly’s new duo of detectives, one in semi-disgrace, one retired. Throw in Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer, and you’ve got one of the most fascinating and satisfying series of crime novels out there. Throughout the 33 that Connelly has published since 1992, familiar characters turn up regularly.

Spiral, Series 7, BBC Four review - hard-hitting return of our favourite French cop show

★★★★ SPIRAL, SERIES 7, BBC FOUR Crime, slime and real-life issues in a de-glamourised Paris

Crime, slime and real-life issues in a de-glamourised Paris

And welcome back to our favourite French cop show – perhaps our favourite cop show from anywhere, in fact – which has raced into its seventh series (on BBC Four) with some typically grimy storylines about death and lowlife in a very de-romanticised Paris. If you catch a glimpse of landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, it’s only in the far distance across drab expanses of rain-soaked rooftops.

Giri/Haji, BBC Two review - inspired Anglo-Japanese thriller makes compulsive viewing

★★★★★ GIRI/HAJI, BBC TWO Inspired Anglo-Japanese thriller makes compulsive viewing

Two worlds collide after synchronous murders in London and Tokyo

Well here’s an interesting one. We’ve been up to our eyebrows in Eurocops for the past few years, but this Anglo-Japanese fusion from BBC Two (the title translates as "Duty / Shame") feels strikingly fresh and different.